Experimentation
by YaoiNekoBoy
Summary: Doctor Hikari has taken Netto's P.E.T. and Rockman away without explaining why. Could there be a new threat to the suburbia, and if there is... how can Netto save the day once again? ::? x ?:: ::M for later chapters::
1. Loneliness and Anxiety

_Disclaimer: Now integrated in part of the introduction… that way it doesn't look like a formal and boring description… clever ne?_

Leo: Um, for those who know me, I had originally made this fanfic idea, but dug myself a pretty deep hole and ended up deleting it.

Molokai: But now he's deciding to start the idea again, but change some of the key aspects of it for an interesting twist.

Leo: Yea, so let's start shall we?

Molokai: Aren't you forgetting something…

Leo: Oh right, we've got a good friend of ours to do the beta for this… so introduce yourself to the loving audience…

Shazz: Hullo readers, Shazz here. waves It's great to be able to beta this fic! Thanks to Leo for asking. Erm… Anyone want a plushie ::waves around a Rockman plushie:: Eeep ::watches Leo and Molokai fight over plushie:: Well it seems their a little busy… Leo doesn't own Rockman, do you think he would be here writing this fanfic if he did? I think not. XD Now on with the story!

**Summary: Doctor Hikari has taken Netto's P.E.T. and Rockman away without explaining why. Could there be a new threat to the suburbia, and if there is... how can Netto save the day once again? (Netto x Rockman)**

**Warnings: There is some… well a lot of yaoi in this fanfic, which means a lot of boy on boy action, so if you don't like that kinda thing than this isn't for you. Also, there is some angst and drama at the end, and violence and swearing throughout. That aside, enjoy…**

**Chapter One: Loneliness and Anxiety**

201X, whilst there were some minor hiccups to the creation of computer assistance programs known as NetNavis, who were designed to help users through the modernistic day to day needs, about a decade ago, scientists have managed to reduce virus activity inside the Net and no major NetCrimes has emerged for half a decade since the formation of the NetSaviours. Life in this society had reached a state of harmony where NetNavis were not only treated as programs, but as equals to humans and the Net became a place where daily activities and meetings could be had without any major concern anymore.

Whilst most people would find this state of harmony within a society to be the perfect community to live in, one brunette adolescent found himself with more freedom, and less adrenaline pumping through his veins than ever before. Known as Netto Hikari, this seventeen year old was one of the finest and most reliable NetSaviour the area had, maybe second to his partner Enzan Ijuin, who with their NetNavis Rockman and Blues had been the main reason why there has been no NetCrimes or any disturbances. Nevertheless, this left a very bored Netto Hikari to say the least.

Now, in his final year of high school, he had his head on the desk eyes closed, sleeping in yet another one of his classes. This time however, he was excused from work as his father, Doctor Hikari of SciLab, had taken his P.E.T. (with Rockman) meaning that he couldn't do any of the advance virus busting techniques that was being taught in this lesson (not that he needed any lessons on that anyways). Whilst appearing to be sleeping soundly, it was all but a good sleep for the brunette. His head kept asking the same questions over and over again, pounding like a jackhammer in his brain. _'What was father doing with Rockman?', 'Why did he need him urgently?'_, but the most important question that ran through his mind was, _'Is Rockman okay?'_

Ever since Netto hit puberty, all he could think about was Rockman, whom also hit puberty with Netto since Doctor Hikari's programming meant that Rockman was built from Netto's twin brother. Netto always knew that he and his NetNavi had a special connection, but he was unsure whether it was his hormones talking or whether it was actually true love.

"Netto… Netto!" A voice broke through the brunette's restless nap as he looked into the eyes of one of his closest friends, Meiru Sakurai. "Come on Netto, time for lunch!" Her feminine voice chimed through Netto's thoughts as he stretched, then grabbed his bag and followed the auburn-haired girl outside. They walked the entire way talking to each other, well mainly Meiru who kept asking why Rockman wasn't with Netto and when she couldn't get an answer she went on about how excited she was about Yaito Ayanokoji, another one of their friends, and her shopping trips.

This happened every year on either Meiru or Yaito's birthdays where they would spend the entire day on deciding what outfit they would wear for the day. Netto knew because since he realised that he preferred Meiru as a sister-like friend than as a lover, she went to him for every little detail of her day to day life, which in theory meant that nothing had changed between the two. The entire time Meiru was talking however, Netto was in his own little world, extremely worried about Rockman.

"Earth to Netto!" Meiru's voice broke through Netto's thoughts for the second time that day leaving the brunette confused and a little dazed for a couple of seconds.

"Hmm? What was that?" Was all Netto could manage to say as he tried to remember anything that Meiru was talking about.

"You were thinking about Rockman, weren't you?" Meiru asked innocently, but to Netto's ears it seemed like she was implying something, making his cheeks burn as the blood rushed straight to them.

"N…No! I mean, yes… I'm just really worried about him…" Netto stuttered as he tried to regain his composure, "what did you ask me about before?"

"Oh, I was wondering whether I should get a frock or cocktail dress compared to a full length formal dress." Meiru started to trail off into a long speech about the different types of dresses that she could buy for her eighteenth party that was coming up.

"I would go with a long formal dress personally, that way you can wear it for other formal occasions…" Netto interjected in Meiru's speech as he openly gave his opinion.

"Eww, you can't wear the same formal dress twice Netto. It's against the laws of formal fashion." Meiru pointed out to Netto, who just shrugged in response.

"Well in the end it's your decision," Netto said with a small smile, "it probably doesn't matter what you choose, 'cause you'll end up looking great no matter what."

"Aww thanks Netto." Meiru gave the brunette a small hug before running off to greet the rest of the group as they hung at their usual spot.

The group hadn't changed since their earlier years at school, with the exception of Enzan Ijuin. The dual-haired male decided that he wanted to belong in the atmosphere of the final years of high school, so he transferred into the same school as the rest of the group. Whilst everyone else had the benefit of knowing each other and the daily routine for school life, Enzan felt like an extra wheel, but nevertheless Netto soon helped him become an integral part of the social and school system.

"Hey Netto! Why'd you skip out on most of the lessons?" The huge male named Dekao Oyama yelled over to Netto. Dekao was still as huge and as fierce as Netto remembered him from the lower grades of school, and for the record even more hot headed when it came to NetBattling. Throughout the years of school, Dekao joined the school football team (not the actually football, but the United States gridiron football). Needless to say with his build, Dekao became the school's leading running block and defence linesman that ever graced the pitch of their fields.

For the most part, Netto was currently off in his own little world for the nth time today. Snapping back to reality he casually shrugged off the question by changing the subject completely in order to avoid explaining to everyone why his father has his P.E.T. and why it's worrying him to no end.

'_I seriously need to stop worrying, Rockman will be just fine… Father is probably doing some new upgrades and virus checks. Damn it! Why didn't he tell me that he was going to do this? In that case, I wouldn't be soooo stressed out!' _Netto mused to himself as he detached himself from the group, moving his thoughts from worrying about Rockman, to worrying about himself worrying about Rockman. His mind burning with endless questions, comments and rebuttals to his own comments, he gave a small sigh and decided to shut his brain off entirely, still giving him enough thought to run his vitals. It was a trick that Netto learnt to deploy whenever there was a class that he really wanted to miss, or Meiru and Yaito went off on their shopping tangents that seemed to last for ages.

"Hey…" The deep voice of Enzan broke through Netto's mind blank strategy as the dual-haired male towering over Netto's body which collapsed to the trunk of the tree. "…mind if I sit next to you?"

"Not at all Enzan, no need to ask…" Netto's voice lingered on the end of the sentence, trying to think of a way to prove that nothing was troubling him. However, with Enzan, putting up facades was never a smart tactic. The elder male always saw past the false smiles and facial expressions and managed to find the heart of all troubles.

Not only that, but the actual almost-adult male had changed in Netto's eyes, mostly caused by the recent death of his father. Enzan had to fight the sorrow of losing his father, inherit the stresses associated with becoming the president of one of the largest businesses in the region, becoming the new student in school and learn to adapt to the entire school social and education system and ensure the safety of the Internet through the NetSaviours. Needless to say, Enzan Ijuin had to deal with the world crashing down around him, and being an already mature individual, he had to grow a higher level of maturity and emotional understanding of the world.

Netto felt sorry for his long time NetSaviours partner, and close friend. It felt cruel to take a mid-teen and throw the stress, expectations and sorrow of an adult onto him. But regardless of what Netto thought, Enzan saw it as another chance for him to grow both mentally and in a way spiritually.

"So what's up Enzan?" Netto asked the elder male as he took a seat next to him, resting his back and head on the wooden trunk of the few trees scattered around the school grounds.

"Same old, what about you?" Enzan asked, eyes closed as he felt the cool autumn breeze flow over his body.

"Yeah, not much really. Procrastinating on school work like normal, hanging out…" Netto gave a small smile as he watched the rest of the group starting a two on two NetBattle between them. Yaito and Meiru with their NetNavis, Glyde and Roll would be battling Dekao and Toru Hikawa and their Navis Gutsman and Iceman. For their part, Netto and Enzan would only watch with a slight interest. Not that the two disliked NetBattling, they just saw it as another chore they had to do as NetSaviours.

"So how's Rockman…" Enzan trailed his question off, leaving Netto to ponder the many reasons why his father took his P.E.T.

"He's doing great, our internal link is still working strong… even though it's been ages since we cross-fused." Netto said, placing his hands behind his head, leaning back against the trunk in a similar fashion to Enzan.

"So why did your father take him then?" The other asked, his sapphire blue eyes looking at the now, really tensed body of Netto.

Netto closed his eyes, his mind started off on it's blur through all the different thoughts and possibilities again. Netto's hands rushed to his temples, rubbing them slightly to ease the pain that started to emerge from the excess thinking that it had to endure today. Then, in a flash of light, he started to remember what caused the concern.

_--- Flashback ---_

_Netto heard the alarm emanating from his P.E.T., but like his usual self, he chose to ignore it. That was before Rockman decided to take matters into his own hands for two reasons. One, Netto really needed to get up to learn better time management before school and two… that alarm was really annoying from where he was. Partly thanks to the new technology installed in every home, Netto's P.E.T. was hardwired to everything in the room. Because of that, Rockman's plan was to turn off the fan and increase the temperature of the electric blanket that was used to protect the male from the chilling autumn nights._

_In a matter of minutes, Netto was curled up into a little ball, teeth slowly chattering. Rockman gave him another four minutes before the male decided to wake due to the cold. And, in that amount of time, Netto's chocolate brown eyes slowly opened and adjusted themselves to the light slowly rising over the horizon._

"_R…Rockman…what…" Netto's voice was slow and strained as he tried to warm himself by rubbing his arms and legs. "…was th…that for?"_

"_Sorry Netto-kun, you needed to get up… and obviously the alarm wasn't going to do the job." Even through explaining why he needed to get up, the brunette gave Rockman a small death glare for his cruel tactics. "Tell you what, you get up now and you can have an extra long and hot shower to recover from the cold, and I'll beg mother to make you pancakes from breakfast…"_

_This peaked the male's interest, almost springing out of bed so he could shower and then go down for one of his mother's famous breakfasts. Rockman chuckled before calling out to his partner before he managed to get out of earshot._

"_Hey Netto, don't forget me!" He called, earning a thump as the brunette stopped in his tracks, ran back to unclip the blue P.E.T. from the holster in his room and take him to the shower. In the bathroom, he set Rockman down into the holster positioned near the shower, so he could start the morning routine of checking his systems for an error or virus. Like always, his systems were entirely clean and so he had not much to do but look around his confined space of the P.E.T. Well actually, he did have a very nice glance at Netto as he slipped out of his black boxers and make his way to the shower, showing off his mature body, which included a flat stomach, small amounts of muscle and other "specialties" about his body that Rockman could only dream about, given the programming._

_However, his view was cut short as the brunette went into the shower, and closed the glass door, making Netto's body fuzzy and impossible to depict through. Giving a small sigh to himself, Rockman went back to looking around the insides of his surroundings, hoping that he could have another small glance at his partner, and major crush. That was one thing that he thanked Netto's father for. The ability to have emotions just like a human, which had its positives and negatives._

_Rockman saw it as a positive, because he managed to feel all the emotions of a human: the thrill of being in a tough NetBattle, the adrenaline to strive for perfection in a fight, the joy of winning and happiness of life and everything around him. But there were also the negative emotions such as hatred, jealously, envy and annoyance, which made Rockman wonder why those emotions occurred in some humans._

_But the main emotion that he had problem dealing with was love. Doctor Hikari took the long explanation of how love is formed by the affection of one human to another and that there were different forms of love. This explanation occurred during Rockman's turn of puberty whilst Netto (and the rest of his class) were being taught Sex. Ed. at high school. Regardless of Doctor Hikari's explanations, Rockman still saw this emotion the most difficult to understand, which Netto's father agreed with._

_But there was some emotion of Rockman's that was only reserved for Netto, it wasn't pride, respect or adherence, because he felt the same to Blues and Enzan for all that they did. It was something else, which Rockman could only describe as love._

_Whilst Rockman was musing over his own emotions he didn't notice that Netto had gotten out of the shower and already dressed himself in his clothes, which the Navi was sort of annoyed to miss. But nevertheless, he was glad that Netto was up and about this early in the morning instead of always rushing to school. Once Netto had neatened himself up, including hair and wondering whether or not he needed to shave again or not, he headed downstairs with his P.E.T. to the smell of pancakes filling his nostrils._

_After making quick work of the meal, and Rockman apologising to Netto's mother for making pancakes on short notice, the two headed upstairs to get ready for school for the day. But not before Netto's father knocked on the door and let himself in._

"_Netto, I need to borrow your P.E.T. and Rockman for the day…" He started off, immediately getting cut off by an overprotective Netto._

"_Uh… why?" He quickly retorted to his father's request. Normally he would never reject his father's offer, but if it involved Rockman he needed a really good reason._

"_Netto, I can't explain, I just need them…"_

_Netto seemed really uncomfortable, and Rockman for a little while, but his faith in Doctor Hikari helped him assure himself and Netto that it was probably best if he did have the P.E.T. And so Netto, for the first time in ages, had to head to school without Rockman and his P.E.T._

_-- End of Flashback --_

"Hey Netto…" Enzan's voice broke through the brunette's thought train of this morning, snapping him back into the real world. "I asked if you knew why your father took your P.E.T?"

"Hmm? Oh, I have no idea Enzan… he said he needed my P.E.T. and Rockman for the day." His thoughts seemed to die down, maybe because the male was extremely hungry or tired, maybe even a combination of the two. "I hope nothing's wrong…"

Netto was cut off as Enzan received an Email through his P.E.T. which his Navi, Blues found. He showed it to Enzan who tapped Netto on the shoulder, showing the brunette the same email. The email said that Doctor Hikari needed to see Netto urgently, and that an email has been sent to his teacher to excuse him for the rest of the day. In a flash, Netto leapt off the ground, said hurried goodbyes to his friends and clipped on his rollerblades to his shoes and sped off down towards SciLab, releasing more fears, worries and headaches into the brunette's already overstressed mind.

Outside the SciLab building, Netto unclipped the rollerblades from his shoes and ran as fast as he could to the elevator. As luck would have it, the doors closed before he got to them and ended up running full pelt up the stairs, never once breaking step for breathe. Reaching his father's floor he took a sharp right turn and skid down the hallway, coming to a complete stop by his father's office door.

Netto, feeling tension, stress and fear coursing through his body, raised a shaky fist to the door was held suspended in animation in front of his father's door. Sweat dripping down his face, breathing heavily from both running all the way here and anxiety, Netto looked like a person who was about to have an epileptic attack more than a person about to knock on a door.

Grabbing a hold of himself, Netto let out a few knocks on the wooden door that separated himself from the truth. A few muffled sounds of his father, papers being folded and piled up, wheel's creaking over floorboards and footsteps played through Netto's ears as he waited for an eternity to end, when the door opened.

"Hey so…" Doctor Hikari was going to greet his son normally, but the anxious male was in a more insane sort of mind set at the time.

"What happened? Why did you need to see me urgently? Its Rockman isn't it! What happened?" Netto started to hyperventilate from all his questions and not a lot of breathing or any sort of brain function for his body.

"Calm down son… I have something to show you…" Doctor Hikari said, ushering his son towards a long silver cylindrical tube that stretched from the ground to the ceiling. And like a science fiction movie, the tube opened up, revealing a bright light and a lot of smoke before the sight in front of Netto hit him, making the brunette almost faint where he stood.

"Netto…" Doctor Hikari said…

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Leo ::starts crying and runs to Shazz:: Molokai stole the Rockman plushie!!

Molokai ::holds the plushie to his chest:: I didn't steal it… it was a fair contest…

Shazz ::pats Leo's back:: Now now children... ::gives Leo a mega Rockman plushie:: There. I had a great time being a beta for this story and I really hope the readers enjoyed it too!

Please review!! Reviews feed the hungry authors::gives out cookies::

Leo: Stay tuned for the upcoming chapters ::waves::


	2. Relief and Realisation

**Experimentation**

**Summary: During an experiment to bring Rockman to the real world, an error occurred and data from the Net starts to seep through… (Netto x Rockman)**

**Warnings: There is some… well a lot of yaoi in this fanfic, which means a lot of boy on boy action, so if you don't like that kinda thing than this isn't for you. Also, there is some angst and drama at the end, and violence and swearing throughout. That aside, enjoy…**

Leo: Hey, we're back for the second chapter for Experimentation, and we're happy that some of you out there have spent some time to review this story.

Molokai: Much appreciated…

Leo: Yeah, and a huge thanks for Shazz who's done an awesome, awesome job at beta-ing this fanfic for us, all the hard work is showing… hands Shazz a giant cookie

Shazz: Ohhhh cookie… chomps Your welcome

Leo: And Molokai, for taking the Rockman plushie last chapter you have to do the disclaimer…

Molokai: Fine, Leo and, in some aspects, I do not own Rockman or Megaman depends on how you want to say it. So yea, we no own, you no sue, deal?

**Chapter Two:- Relief and Realisation**

_(Last Chapter)_

_And like a science fiction movie, the tube opened up, revealing a bright light and a lot of smoke before the sight in front of Netto hit him, making the brunette almost faint where he stood._

"_Netto…" Doctor Hikari said…_

Netto just stood, like his feet had turned into concrete and set his legs onto the floor. His eyes widened as the smoke cleared and there in front of him stood Rockman. His bright, emerald eyes shone in the light as he adjusted his vision to take in his surroundings, finally focusing upon the brunette spellbound in front of him. Trying to get closer to his owner, and crush, Rockman stepped out of the tube, only to lose his footing. The result was that Rockman was successfully on top of a now crushed Netto, who was still shocked at Rockman's existence in the real world to care.

"Rockman…" was all the brunette could say as he looked into the half-closed eyes of his long-time partner and friend as he tried to stand.

"Easy there Rockman, you're calibration is still very sensitive at the moment…" Doctor Hikari said, helping the Navi to his feet, trying to find his centre of balance on his feet. "Just take it very easy to begin with, well at least you're internal calibration is completed."

"Whoa," Rockman yelled, almost losing his balance again before his lightning reflexes helped his regain balance, his hand darting to a computer desk to break his fall. "Yeah… I feel all dizzy and…" He couldn't finish the sentence as he fell once again.

This time however, Netto was his support. The brunette lodged his back foot against a different computer desk so his body wouldn't budge as the Navi fell on top of him for the second time that day. It was at this time that the brunette noticed the height difference between himself and his partner. Whilst Netto stood at an average five foot six, Rockman would tower him by a good five, maybe even six inches. Also, as Netto noticed, Rockman's muscles were very easily seen through his outfit, which hugged around his arms and chest very tightly, much to Netto's joy.

"I'm sorry Netto… I must look like a complete idiot." Rockman sighed as he tried again to stand properly, only to fall back onto the younger and much shorter male. "Damn feet…"

"It… it's okay Rockman, I mean you do look a little strange, but it's acceptable…" Netto started, Rockman's eyes still fixed on the brunette's chest as he struggled against gravity to regain balance. "I don't think the transition from the Cyberworld to the real world would be kind…"

"Netto, you should help get Rockman home so he can rest…" Netto's father turned to one of the tables and picked up the blue P.E.T and tossed it to his son, "Rockman still has all the functions of a Navi, as in you can still input battlechips into the P.E.T and Rockman will be able to use them in the real world. Also, Rockman can still enter into the Internet through the P.E.T, but it requires Rockman to vacate his body for the time in the Cyberworld."

Netto gave a small nod to his father, looping one of Rockman's arms around his shoulders and helped ease some of the Navi's weight off his new body. Before they exited however, Doctor Hikari gave Rockman a change of clothes in which to disguise himself, so he didn't attract too much attention to himself in the open public, especially in the middle of the day. Ducking into one of the closest public toilets, they breathed a sigh of relief when they managed to get down two floors without being noticed.

"Uh, Rockman… this is going to sound really weird…" Netto gulped, a thin red blush spreading across his face as he realised about their current predicament.

"What is it Netto?" Rockman looked at the brunette's face, not quite grasping what Netto was getting at.

"Um, without holding yourself up, you will never get that suit off to change into the other clothes." Netto looked over his partner's body a thick red blush was plastered on his face as the blood rushed to his cheeks.

"Oh… that… that is a good point…" Rockman's voice wavered as his face was almost identical to Netto's at this point in time.

"Um… how are we going to do this then?" Netto looked at the clothes that his father gave them for Rockman to change into. He unfolded the shirt and placed it against Rockman's chest measuring the shirt against his body. "Well, the shirt is kind of big on you, so you can just put the shirt and hopefully the pants over your suit."

Rockman nodded as he leant on the row of sinks in the room, moving the weight off his legs, allowing Netto to easily slip on the pants without any problems. Netto took off the Navi's helmet and revealed the long flowing onyx hair of his partner. Some of the bangs fell into the emerald eyes of Rockman, and Netto wanted nothing more than to sweep some of the bangs away to continue looking into those emerald eyes. Unknown to Netto, Rockman wanted the exact same thing as his partner. Regaining his composure, Netto slipped the temporary shirt over his partner's head, and slid the sleeves up his arms. However this created a problem, as Rockman's navy suit was still visible.

"Rockman, is there anyway you can roll those sleeves up?" The brunette asked, eyes looking over his partner seeing if there was anything else that was still visible.

"I wish… the suit is almost completely skin-tight, it would be nearly impossible." The Navi responded, looking at his partner, looking over his entire body.

'I can't believe it worked, the experiment actually worked. I'm here in the real world with Netto.' Rockman thought to himself, the realisation hitting him as his mind began to tick over. The internal calibration was slowly taking effect on his body.

"… if any body asks we'll just say it's a thermal suit, cause you're not used to the cool temperature here." Rockman returned his attention to the brunette, catching most of what he was saying. He simply replied with a nod and slowly started to hobble along the ground, getting used to his new body. As a precaution however, Netto was there continually looking between Rockman and the pathway ahead of them.

Exiting SciLab, and doing their best to ignore some of the stares that were directed at them, Rockman and Netto headed off back home, with the Navi being able to walk without any assistance. Rockman credited this to both Netto and his father. Doctor Hikari was an expert and integrating a calibration system into his real body from the P.E.T was a stroke of genius. And he thanked Netto because he was there for the moral and physical support which helped in regaining his balance.

The train ride home for the pair was fairly uneventful, except for the fact that Rockman kept getting weird stares from random people on the train. Not to mention that there was one small kid that constantly stared at the two of them and kept saying to his mother, "It's Netto and Rockman, mummy! I know it's them." Rockman quietly kept his eyes down after that comment, hoping not to draw to much attention to himself or Netto. Luckily, many people either didn't believe the little child or recognise them and the pair snuck off the train at their stop.

"So how does it feel to be human Rockman?" Netto asked his Navi, still looking over the entire body of his Navi in awe at his father's work.

"Really different, I mean I did feel things in the Cyberworld, but nothing like this." Rockman stretched out his hand and removed one of his gloves to reveal his long slender fingers. A small chill went up the Navi's spine as the slow, cooling breeze hit his bare skin on his hand. "A…ahh… like that. I would have never experienced that in the Cyberworld."

Netto quickly turned his head away from the taller male as a small blush spread across his face from the small almost-moan that his partner let out when the breeze touched his very delicate skin. But in another way, Netto also saw things slightly differently. He actually looked at his world and how much he took things for granted. For Rockman, all the new aromas, touches, sights and sounds that Netto was used to hearing over and over again, his crush would be experiencing for the first time in the real world. And because of that sole idea, Netto was even more thankful for the experiment that his father operated on the Navi.

For his part, Rockman felt like a small child who was experiencing the wonders of life for the first time. However, his mental mind set and his knowledge of the world, he didn't need to act like a little child and point out everything or ask what it was. Instead, he rather closed his eyes whenever an intoxicating smell or enchanting sound came through his ears, heightening their impact on how real everything was to him now. And luckily for Netto, Rockman felt a small tranquillity in just feeling the new emotions and senses flooding through his body, never asking why or what.

Reaching their home, Rockman just stood there, taking in the all too familiar sight that he saw through the screen of the P.E.T, but this time he was actually going to be inside of it for real, become a human part of the family instead of just a really important device that came in handy. Regardless of what they may say, Rockman always admitted to himself that was all he was in the Hikari family. He was just the remaining memories of a lost child or twin in the family, who's DNA his construction was initially built on. On this train of thought however, he wasn't Netto's twin brother, nor did Rockman even want to be his brother. He didn't want to replace who Netto's true brother was, and for the sake of love, he didn't want anyone else thinking that either. (A/N: Some people do think that Rockman is Netto's twin brother on the basis that he was initially constructed from Netto's brother's (who I think is Saito) DNA. I personally believe, which is shown above, that Rockman isn't his brother, but rather there to resemble, not replace).

Netto took out his house keys and unlocked the front door, swinging the door ajar with a loud creak that echoed through the deserted house. Taking in a small breath, Rockman took a look inside his new home, the familiar sights hit in first, at least now they weren't through a thick glass screen.

"I'm sorry mother isn't home, but she will be once she finishes her shopping." The brunette stood to one side letting the taller male into the house, physically, for the first time. "We are really early to get home though…"

Netto was cut off as his P.E.T vibrated in its holster, which was attached to his belt. Unclipping the safety protection, he withdrew the navy terminal noticing a small envelope icon flashing in the top right corner of the screen. Furrowing his eyebrows, he pushed a few buttons and opened the e-mail.

"Hey it's from Enzan…" Netto thought aloud, grabbing the Navi's attention who walked over to the smaller male and looked over his shoulder, whilst Netto read the letter aloud. "You seemed in a huge hurry, and I know it's wrong, but I read the e-mail your father sent. Is everything alright?"

"What are you going to say in reply?" Rockman asked, looking between the e-mail and at Netto for an answer.

"It doesn't matter… you are no longer in the P.E.T so I can no longer write or send anything…"

The brunette sighed, placing the P.E.T on the small table in front of the sofa as he collapsed onto the cushions. Rockman joined his operator as he sat down on the opposite side of the couch, his leg just resting against Netto's hair. They sat like that for ages, completely content with being in each other's company more than saying anything. In the midst of the moment, Netto Hikari closed his eyes, letting himself fall into an easy slumber, with Rockman giving a small smile as he watched his long time partner doze off.

Not wanting to make the atmosphere disappear, Rockman just sat there thinking over everything that has happened throughout the day. That was, until, a small pressure mounted on his lap. He looked down to find a sea of chocolate-brown hair, and an obviously comfortable Netto.

A slight blush crept across the Navi's face as he looked at where the brunette's head was resting, but pushing all the mental images out of his mind, he grabbed one of the navy gloves on his hand and peeled it off. Then, with his bare hand, he slowly inched it towards the cheek of his operator, his heart beating furiously within his chest, hoping that he wouldn't pass through him in a sick and twisted mirage to torture him.

Yet the warm touch of Netto's cheek reaffirmed the NetNavi that everything was real, and the he was in the real world. He gave a small sigh of relief, but instinctively his breath hitched as the sleeping brunette nuzzled his cheek into the open palm, wanting more of the touch.

Rockman again had to battle his self control as he watched Netto's mouth twitch into a small smile as he nuzzled continually into the Navi's hand. Whilst he didn't want anything to continue more than already today, he instinctively began to stroke Netto's cheek lovingly.

:-:-:-:-: Meanwhile at SciLab :-:-:-:-:

Doctor Hikari was scanning over the computer terminals once Netto and Rockman left making sure that all the operations and that Rockman's internal configuration was working properly. After lightly scanning over the monitors he relaxed, feeling relieved that the operation went smoothly and sent an email to Enzan saying that he thanked him for getting the email to Netto in such short notice. A short reply saying no problem from the dual-haired boy was all that he received in return. Short but sweet.

Deciding that he needed a break from staring at monitors all throughout the morning and missing his lunch break, Doctor Hikari grabbed his SciLab keycard and headed outside for a bit of fresh air and hopefully something to eat. Unknown to the doctor however, a small red error message appeared at the bottom right hand corner of the left hand monitor. The monitor that held the operational program…

:-:-:-:-: Back with Netto and Rockman :-:-:-:-:

For a few minutes now, Rockman had been stroking Netto's cheek, and now his left hand had joined in by stroking the chocolate locks of the operator. Rockman felt like he had died and gone to heaven.

:-: BEEP:-:-: BEEP:-:

Of course with the cruelty that life and fate deals out, the P.E.T began to vibrate and emit a small series of beeps as an incoming message was being received by Netto's P.E.T. The brunette stirred from his slumber and groggily picked up the navy terminal, not noticing his head was still in the Navi's lap. Pushing a few buttons haphazardly Netto started to read the email to himself, eyes widening with every line he read.

"R…Rockman!" Netto almost screamed as he finished the email, looking straight into the emerald eyes of his partner. In a short instance, emerald and chocolate brown mixed as they stared into each other's eyes, Netto completely forgetting that the email he read was urgent and the other forgetting the other's head was still in his lap. "Why am I resting on your lap? Argh! I'll ask you that again later… Father needs us right away!"

"Huh? What, what for?"

"There's an incident at SciLab…"

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Molokai: Another cliff-hanger?

Leo:- shrugs -: What can I say? I've always done cliff-hangers for most of my stories, and it keeps some of the readers interested in the story

Shazz: Yup yup it does! It makes them hungry for more… so if you want more then review!! grins

Leo: Yup, reviews would be grateful, and I know this is a slow chapter, it had to be a filler for the next chapter, so stay tuned for some action coming right at ya next chapter! Til then, cya!


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